


You Are Young

by TheGreatCatsby



Series: KouGino Week [2]
Category: Psycho-Pass
Genre: KouGino Week, M/M, day 2: era, school fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-13
Updated: 2015-09-13
Packaged: 2018-04-20 15:38:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,716
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4793006
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheGreatCatsby/pseuds/TheGreatCatsby
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"We can study together."</p>
            </blockquote>





	You Are Young

**Author's Note:**

> For the prompt "era," this being their school days.

The school days were long, but the lessons were interesting. Kougami was one of the few people in his class who actually enjoyed spending his days in a classroom. It was hard to sit still for hours on end, but he usually worked off his pent-up energy by running around the track during lunch period. 

This year was harder than the others. They were starting to focus on the exam that would determine where they could work, what their careers would be. Kougami didn't like the idea of not having a choice, so he studied hard, wanting to have as many choices as possible. Enough so that he could convince himself that the system wasn't actually choosing for him at all. 

He'd just finished his morning classes and was jogging to the track for a quick run before lunch when he saw a group of people in his path. At first he thought they were friends hanging out. 

It quickly became clear that they weren't. 

Kougami wasn't the sort of person to stand idly by and watch situations unfold. Three boys had ganged up on a fourth one, who looked vaguely familiar. They had knocked him down and looked like they were about to start beating him up. 

Kougami decided to intervene. Later, he'd think of it as one of the best decisions he'd ever made. 

Because that was the day he met Ginoza Nobuchika. 

*

“Why don't you like me?” 

Ginoza glared at him. Ginoza had a surprisingly icy, intimidating glare. Kougami still sat across from him and began eating his lunch. 

“I never said I didn't like you,” Ginoza said. “Why are you sitting here?” 

“Can't I sit with you?” Kougami asked. “And I know you didn't say it, but I felt it. You looked like you wanted to kill me yesterday.” 

“I didn't need you to come to my aid,” Ginoza said. “I was fine.” 

“It was three against one,” Kougami pointed out. “That's not very fair.” 

“Why does it matter to you?” Ginoza pushed his tray back. “You're top of the class. People like you. It shouldn't matter what happens to me.” 

“It's not fair,” Kougami repeated. Why wasn't Ginoza getting that? 

“What isn't fair?” Ginoza asked. “That I have a latent criminal in my family? Or that they're afraid of being around someone like that?” 

Kougami swallowed a mouthful of food. “You're not a latent criminal. You're second in the class. People probably don't like you because you're not friendly.” 

Ginoza stared at him. “People don't like me because they think being a latent criminal is contagious.” 

“That's...” Kougami frowned. He'd never thought about that. “That isn't true. It's not contagious. You don't think that's true, right?” 

“Of course not.” Ginoza adjusted his glasses. 

“So,” Kougami said, “I think we make a good match.” 

Ginoza nearly fell out of his seat. “What!” 

“I don't think you're contagious, or a latent criminal, we're both smart, and honestly? I don't have a lot of people to hang out with.” 

“I have to study.” 

“So do I. We can study together.” 

Ginoza sighed. “Fine. Kougami. Whatever you want.” 

He didn't sound convinced. 

*

“What if it's true?” 

Kougami looked up from the text he was reading. Ginoza's brows were drawn together, his face washed out by the light of his computer. 

“What if what's true?” 

“That latent criminals are contagious,” Ginoza said. He lowered his eyes. 

“You're not studying,” Kougami said. 

“It's not been proven,” Ginoza said. “It's all really new. What if I'm predisposed because my dad is one?” 

“I don't think that's how it works, Ginoza,” Kougami said. 

“It doesn't matter what you think,” Ginoza snapped. “What if it's true?” 

Kougami was surprised by Ginoza's anger. “Do you wanna take a break?” 

“No. You're right. I should be studying.” Ginoza ducked his head. 

Kougami sighed and rested his head on his hand, slumping forward in his seat. The words on the computer screen weren't registering anymore. 

That week, Ginoza scored higher than him in an exam. But Kougami couldn't stop thinking about that anger, and the fear behind it when Ginoza asked about latent criminals. 

*

They had to sign up for classes for their final year, and the night before Kougami met Ginoza for dinner. They'd been spending more time outside of school together doing things other than studying, and it was nice. It felt a bit less like they were competing against each other and more like they were interested in each other as people. 

And Kougami didn't understand the strange tug in his chest whenever he saw Ginoza, the way he felt himself kickstart into overdrive. How present he was with Ginoza, when he wasn't with other people. 

It was all new to him. 

That night Ginoza had a small booklet and was marking off the classes he'd like to take rather than eating his dinner. The course booklets were one of the few things left in the school that were actually made physical—everything else was digital now. Every year Kougami found himself excited to receive the small, thick booklet. He enjoyed real books, and the course booklet was like an interactive one. He could read what his school had to offer and circle what he wanted, in the hopes of building a future. 

But Ginoza was even more focused on the booklet than he was. “You should finish eating first,” Kougami said, not mentioning the fact that Ginoza hadn't even started eating. 

“These are the most important classes we'll ever take,” Ginoza said. “What we take, and how we do, will determine our future.” 

“Isn't that Sybil's job?” Kougami muttered. It was half a joke, half bitter observation. He leaned forward, trying to catch a glimpse of Ginoza's selections. “You must be aiming for something in particular.” 

“Aren't you?” Ginoza asked without looking up. 

“...I was just going to wait and see what I'm suitable for. I want to be suitable for a lot of things so I'll have a choice,” Kougami explained. Which is why he thought he'd take classes that covered a wide range of subjects. 

“Mmmm,” Ginoza said. It occurred to Kougami that they'd never talked about the future, that he'd never asked why Ginoza studied so hard and put so much effort into class, and why he resented being second of their year. 

“What do you want to be selected for?” Kougami asked. 

“The Public Safety Bureau,” Ginoza said. “As an inspector.” 

He said it like it was nothing, but Kougami knew that jobs at the Public Safety Bureau were some of the most difficult to get. Very few people were suited for the position of inspector, either because they lacked the necessary knowledge or they lacked the sharp instinct and mental resilience needed by an investigator. 

“That's huge,” he said. And he'd never really thought about it. Of the careers that the school tried to push them towards, inspectors were ranked pretty low. So much so that the job had slipped underneath Kougami's radar. But now his mind lit up with possibilities. A job where he could be making a difference, analyzing crimes and making sure that the law was enacted fairly. 

Ginoza shrugged and continued looking through the booklet. 

“Why do you want to be an inspector?” Kougami asked. 

This time Ginoza did look up. He hesitated. “I want to protect people,” he said. 

That night, Kougami went home and researched the Public Safety Bureau. They were like an extension of the Sybil System, something which made Kougami feel uncomfortable, but they also were given a certain amount of free will. They still had to investigate, and make judgements beyond what the guns that scanned for crime coefficients, the dominators, told them to do. They worked with a team of latent criminals who could think in the mindset of people breaking the law. 

That part, Kougami found interesting. It seemed that to the Public Safety Bureau, the question of whether or not latent criminals were contagious was a non-issue. 

Kougami returned to his course booklet and began scrutinizing the class selection more closely. And this time, when he made his selections, he marked classes that he thought would be useful to an inspector. 

Ginoza hadn't meant to, but he had shown Kougami the career he was best suited for. 

Now Kougami just had to make the Sybil System agree. 

*

Ginoza had locked himself away for the past week and Kougami almost fell over with relief to see him. But it was short-lived; Ginoza looked like a wreck. His hair was messed up, there were bruises under his eyes, and he was pale. 

Not that Kougami wasn't nervous. Today their futures would be determined. 

“I called you,” he said. “Why didn't you call me back? I was worried, you know.” 

“I don't know,” Ginoza said. Kougami took him aside to a bench just outside the building they were to be tested in. 

“Don't worry. You've done well.” 

“I don't know what to do if I don't qualify as an inspector,” Ginoza said. “I think I made a mistake, Kou.” 

“You will qualify,” Kougami said. Ginoza had worked too hard not to. 

“But my dad--” 

“What happened with your dad shouldn't matter,” Kougami said. “If it does, then the system is stupid. What matters is whether you can do the job or not.” 

Ginoza nodded and glanced at his hands, clenched in his lap. “I don't know what I'll do if we're not both accepted,” he muttered. 

Kougami leaned closer to him. “What?” 

Ginoza still wouldn't look at him. “I want to work with you.” 

Kougami's eyes widened. He hadn't expected that. Ginoza was his friend, grudgingly it seemed. But now he wanted Kougami at his side beyond school? 

Kougami's surprise gave way to joy and relief. “I'm sure we'll be working together,” he said. “We'll both be amazing inspectors. The PSB won't know what hit them.” 

“I hope so.” Ginoza didn't sound convinced. 

“Gino.” 

Ginoza looked up at him, and Kougami smiled. 

“We'll be fine.” 

Ginoza started to say something, but Kougami leaned forward and brushed Ginoza's lips with his own. He pulled away. 

“Trust me.” 

Ginoza stared at him. 

Kougami checked his watch. “Come on. I'll buy you dinner after this.” 

He offered his hand and Ginoza took it, and together, they walked inside.


End file.
